Has Ducati stagnated or have its MotoGP rivals cau...

It’s been 182 days since Ducati gained a grand prix in MotoGP. Fermin Aldeguer’s success in Malaysia final September marked the latest success for the Italian marque within the premier class.

Whereas there have been a number of caveats surrounding Ducati’s blended type in the direction of the tip of final yr, the early outcomes from 2026 counsel a transparent shift within the aggressive order. Actually, it’s not solely Aprilia that has turn out to be a explanation for concern for Ducati, with KTM additionally rising as a potent menace within the palms of Pedro Acosta.

The numbers communicate for themselves. Within the riders’ championship, Ducati’s top-placed man is fourth-placed Fabio di Giannantonio, behind Aprilia duo Marco Bezzecchi and Jorge Martin, and KTM’s Acosta. Within the producers’ standings, Ducati is once more trailing runaway chief Aprilia, whereas holding a slender four-point lead over KTM. 

Nevertheless it’s the groups’ standings the place the image is actually alarming for Ducati. Throughout the opening three rounds, the manufacturing facility Aprilia squad scored 158 factors, greater than twice as many as Ducati. Actually, Marc Marquez and Francesco Bagnaia have solely amassed 70 factors between them, leaving the ‘pink group’ behind Aprilia, KTM and even Trackhouse in fourth place.

Gresini has fared even worse, not helped by Aldeguer’s absence from the Thai GP opener. However team-mate Alex Marquez additionally has had an unusually sluggish begin to the season, with sixth-place within the Brazilian GP his finest end in a Sunday race.

Whereas Aprilia and KTM have clearly made fast strides over the winter, Alex Marquez believes Ducati has stagnated, permitting the hole to widen on the entrance.

“Proper now, they [Aprilia] are higher, as a result of they’re profitable,” he stated in Austin.” Final yr, our bike was a bit forward they usually couldn’t beat us; this yr, they’re a step forward, and I feel we’ve remained a bit caught in a roundabout way. That’s the place Ducati is working very laborious to convey new issues.

“However I belief Ducati. I feel there might be a degree within the season the place we are able to take a step ahead. It’s all the time occurred in Ducati’s historical past – when it’s a manufacturing facility bike, they usually want half a season to place all the things in place, after which they begin to carry out very effectively, like in 2023 or 2022. So the hope is rarely misplaced. I’m the primary one who gained’t cease working and can maintain giving my suggestions to maintain enhancing.”

The place is Ducati shedding out?

With Alex Marquez enduring a lacklustre begin to the season and reigning champion Marc Marquez nonetheless not totally recovered from his shoulder harm, VR46’s di Giannantonio has emerged as Ducati’s main gentle.

In line with the Italian, Ducati riders have now turn out to be overly reliant on the GP26’s rear-end, which stays the strongest level of the bike.

Whereas this performs to Ducati’s benefit in dash races, the place tyre put on is much less essential, it creates issues over full race distance as rear degradation will increase.

“We have to enhance our entrance, we want to have the ability to brake more durable and convey extra pace into the nook with the entrance,” he defined. “That’s the challenge that we’ve got in the meanwhile, that we’re all on the rear, and as soon as the rear is gone, we can’t actually specific our pace.”

Di Giannantonio claimed pole within the final two rounds at Goiania and Austin, exhibiting how Ducati stays aggressive on new Michelin tyres. Nonetheless, that benefit doesn’t all the time translate into superior race tempo on used rubber. Poor begins for di Giannantonio additionally haven’t helped Ducati’s trigger.

“They’ve a bonus, they will brake a bit of later, they will go in with the brakes they usually can use the entrance to show the bike,” he defined. “In the mean time we will not.

“We use the rear quite a bit. When you will have a brand new tyre, the bike is absolutely good, we are able to do no matter we wish. However when the rear tyres begin to drop a bit of, you do not have the entrance to help the drop of the rear tyre, so for us it is getting tougher.”

He added: “Within the final years we have performed unimaginable races as a result of we had been forward of the competitors with the management of the rear tyre, however now that the [other] guys improved the entrance quite a bit, that management of the rear tyre isn’t sufficient. We have to enhance the braking and the entry quite a bit.”

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– The Motorsport.com Crew